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Georgia’s peanut producers have been sidelined with regularity this spring because of excessive rainfall. Plantings are not as far along as they could have been due to increased moisture this spring, most recently last weekend in southern and central Georgia.
The Georgia Peanut Commission and University of Georgia (UGA) Extension Peanut Team caution growers about rushing to plant in a field that may be too soggy for tractors and planting equipment.
“The big thing is don’t rush it. We don’t need to mud it in,” said Scott Monfort, UGA Extension peanut agronomist “We do need to get it all planted. Just stay with the gameplan, and as soon as you can get in, let’s get in and move. Just try to get as much planted as you can, and feel free to reach out if you’ve got problems and let us see if we can help you decide whether you need to replant or you’re good to go.”
According to the UGA Weather Network, Tifton, Georgia, received 7.66 inches of rain from May 1 to May 28, compared to 2.93 inches in 2023 and 1.27 in 2022. Moultrie, Georgia, received 13.02 inches during that same timeframe, compared to 3.38 inches in 2022.
“We are sitting still. We sat still for a whole week, a week or so back and didn’t get anything done. Now we’re sitting again because we got another rain shower. It’s about like everything else, by the time you get started you’ve got to stop,” Monfort said. “There’s a couple of whole field replants, especially where they got washed out and they had to go in and do some field repair. There’s a lot of that in some places, it just depends on the situation.”
Monfort estimates that about 65% of this year’s peanut crop has been planted.
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